Tibet with older children
Altitude is the whole answer to this question, and it answers it before anything about sightseeing, food or interest gets a vote.
Our position, stated plainly at the start so nobody has to read to the end for it: we do not build Tibet trips for young children. From roughly twelve years old upwards we will, on a slower and lower route than the one we would build for adults. Below that we say no, and we would rather lose the booking than have that conversation at 12,000 feet.
Why altitude is different for children
Lhasa sits at about 11,995 feet (3,656 m), higher than almost anywhere most families have ever slept. A standard route crosses passes at around 15,700 feet (4,790 m) and 16,400 feet (5,000 m). Children are not more likely than adults to develop acute mountain sickness, and the research on that is reasonably settled. The problem is not incidence. It is detection.
An adult can tell you that the headache is worse than it was an hour ago, that this nausea feels different from ordinary travel sickness, that something is wrong in a way they cannot name. A younger child cannot reliably do any of that. What you get instead is a child who is quiet, off their food, tearful, sleeping oddly and not themselves, which is also what you get from a long flight, a new country, a stomach upset or simply being tired.
That ambiguity is the entire problem. The management of altitude illness depends on noticing that symptoms are getting worse rather than better, and on descending quickly when they are. When you cannot read the signal clearly, you lose the margin that keeps the whole thing safe.
Two further facts make it heavier here than in some other high places. Medical facilities exist in Lhasa and are thin to non-existent on the road, and serious cases are evacuated to Chengdu. And descent, which is the treatment, is a matter of hours of driving rather than minutes of walking downhill.
What we will and will not build
We will not build any Tibet route for children under about twelve. No exceptions on request, and no shortened version that gets around it.
We will not take children of any age to Everest north base camp. The sleeping altitude of around 16,500 feet (5,000 m), the two long driving days at either end and the accommodation there are not something we are prepared to put a child into. The full description is in what Everest north base camp is actually like.
We will not take children to Namtso, where the lake sits at about 15,500 feet (4,730 m) and the night is spent at that height in simple accommodation.
We will not remove the acclimatisation days, and with a family we usually add one. Three full days in Lhasa before the first pass rather than two.
We will build a lower, slower plateau route for families with children of about twelve and up, and it is a genuinely good trip rather than a reduced one.
The route we do build
Nine days, with the altitude profile kept as flat as the geography allows.
| Days | Where | Sleeping elevation | Driving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive Lhasa | 11,995 ft (3,656 m) | None |
| 2 to 4 | Lhasa, three slow days | 11,995 ft (3,656 m) | None |
| 5 | Lhasa to Gyantse over Yamdrok Lake | 12,990 ft (3,960 m) | 6 to 8 hours |
| 6 | Gyantse to Shigatse | 12,600 ft (3,840 m) | 2 hours |
| 7 | Shigatse to Lhasa, the direct road | 11,995 ft (3,656 m) | 5 to 6 hours |
| 8 | Lhasa, rest and the parts you missed | 11,995 ft (3,656 m) | None |
| 9 | Fly out |
Read the elevation column. Nobody sleeps above about 13,000 feet on this route, the highest ground is crossed in a vehicle in the middle of a day and descended from the same afternoon, and there are four days where the vehicle does not move at all. That is the design. See Tibet with older children in 9 days.
What works with older children
The Barkhor. The pilgrimage circuit around the Jokhang, walked clockwise with everyone else, prayer wheels turning, and a pace set by pilgrims rather than by a schedule. It costs nothing, it can be done twice a day, and it is the single best thing in Lhasa for a twelve-year-old.
The debating courtyard at Sera. Monks debating in the late afternoon, with the clapping gesture that punctuates each argument. It is loud, physical and completely unlike anything a European or American child has seen in a religious building.
The Potala Palace. A serious climb of many flights of stairs at nearly 12,000 feet, which is exactly why we schedule it for the fourth day rather than the second. Children generally handle the climb better than their parents and should still be told to go slowly.
Yamdrok Lake and the Karola glacier. The best of the driving day, with a glacier close enough to the road to see the crevasses in it.
The Kumbum at Gyantse. A tiered stupa of chapels stacked in a spiral that you climb through floor by floor. It is the most physically interesting building on the route and it works as exploration rather than as a tour.
Momos. Steamed or fried dumplings, cheap, everywhere, and the thing most children will actually eat. The rest of the food is honest and narrow, and we set expectations rather than pretend. See Tibetan food, what to eat.
What does not work
Long driving days, twice in a row. Six to eight hours on the plateau is normal here and two of those back to back is the thing that exhausts adults, let alone children. Our family route never does two in succession.
A narrow menu for nine days. Lhasa has good Sichuan, Nepali and north Indian restaurants and the road does not. Bring the snacks your children actually eat.
A packed monastery schedule. Three monasteries in a day is too many for anyone and definitively too many for a teenager. We build one significant site a day with a long lunch and unstructured time around it.
Altitude and screens. Poor sleep in the first two nights is normal, and it is worse if the evening is spent on a bright screen. This is the one house rule we ask families to enforce.
The practical points
- Hydration. Far more water than feels necessary, for everyone, from the moment you land. It is the single most effective thing you can do.
- Sun. Ultraviolet at this altitude is severe. High-factor sunscreen, lip balm, hats and proper sunglasses are not optional, and the sunburn people get here surprises them.
- Layers. A 40F (22C) swing between midday sun and night is normal, so layers rather than one heavy coat, including a warm hat even in June.
- Medication. Whether a child should take anything to assist acclimatisation is a conversation with your own paediatrician, not with us. Tell us what they advise and we plan around it.
- Tell your doctor the numbers. Not “we are going to Tibet” but “we will sleep at 12,000 feet for six nights and cross a pass at 16,400 feet”. The answer to the second question is more useful.
- Behaviour at monasteries. Walk clockwise around shrines, do not point your feet at an altar, ask before photographing people, and do not photograph checkpoints or personnel. Children pick this up quickly when a guide explains it.
- The permits. Every traveller including every child needs a Chinese visa and a Tibet Travel Permit issued against the booked itinerary, several weeks ahead. The process is in Tibet for the first time.
What it costs
Land only, per person, based on two adults sharing, excluding international flights and the flight or train into Lhasa.
| Style | Per day | 9 days |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable: good Lhasa hotels, plain hotels on the road | $210 | $1,890 |
| Boutique: the best rooms in Lhasa, best available elsewhere | $330 | $2,970 |
| Luxury: top-tier where it exists, private throughout | $560 | $5,040 |
There is no budget tier in Tibet, for families or anyone else. The permit, the licensed guide and the private vehicle are mandatory fixed costs from day one. The one genuine saving for a family is that those costs are per vehicle and per day rather than per person, so a family of four carries roughly half the mandatory element that a couple does. The detail is in what a trip to Tibet costs.
Plan this trip
Tell us your children’s ages and your dates and we will tell you honestly whether we would build it, and what shape it would take. Free, and with no obligation.
Related
- Tibet: the complete guide to planning your trip
- Tibet with older children, 9 days
- How many days do you need in Tibet?
- Tibet for the first time
- What a trip to Tibet costs
Frequently asked questions
Is twelve a hard rule?
Would Tibet be better as a teenager’s first trip to Asia?
What happens if a child becomes unwell on the road?
Can we add Everest if the children stay in Shigatse?
Plan a trip to Tibet cannot be travelled independently, and the altitude sets the schedule All Tibet cannot be travelled independently, and the altitude sets the schedule trips
